Commuter rail line could link Cherry Point, Lejeune

Instead of driving to work, some Marines could take the train.

A transportation committee of the Military Growth Task Force suggests the idea of commuter rail service between Cherry Point and Camp Lejeune in a report to be presented Thursday at the task force's next meeting.

Danny Walsh, a Havelock commissioner and member of the task force, said a train would run in the morning and the evening along the 26-mile rail spur between the two bases.

He said a commuter train would decrease the number of cars on the road and would also offer military members a chance to get some work done on the train.

"A lieutenant colonel that's going to Camp Lejeune every day could work on his laptop for the 35 minutes that he's riding down that railroad track," Walsh said. "He can talk on the telephone. He can rest. He can do everything except hang on to the steering wheel."

He said command changes have created a lot of commuters between the two bases that rail service could help.

The task force was created to help area cities and counties cope with about 11,500 new Marines who will be based at Cherry Point, Camp Lejeune and New River by 2011. One of the issues the task force is looking at is transportation.

According to the report, about half of the new Marines are already in the area. About 61,000 Marines will be based in eastern North Carolina by 2011, according to the report.

The Croatan National Forest separates Cherry Point and Camp Lejeune, with no direct road route. Drivers need about an hour to either take U.S. 70, Hibbs Road and N.C. 24 or U.S. 70 and U.S. 17 to get from one base to the other.

The rail line cuts through the forest and is a more direct route.

Another option may be the paving of Catfish Lake Road, an 18-mile road that cuts through the forest from Maysville to near Stately Pines west of Havelock.

Walsh said discussions among the N.C. Department of Transportation and committee members revealed that the dirt road had been created to connect the two bases.

"The federal government spent the money to build the bridges and install the road called Catfish Lake Road as an alternative way to get from Camp Lejeune from Cherry Point in times of national emergency or hurricanes," Walsh said.

"It's a 20- to 25-minute savings in time to go Catfish Lake Road as opposed to going the other routes, which usually take an hour."

Environmentalists have opposed paving the road in the past, citing the potential problems increased traffic on the road could have on the forest.

Walsh said the issue with paving the road could be money. He said DOT doesn't have it, but the Department of Defense might. He said the road is in good enough shape that paving should not cost too much.

But Walsh said the commuter train might be the best idea and would use existing infrastructure.

He said along with passengers, the train could include a freight car that could eliminate trucks from roads.

"How much money do you save on fuel by using a train?" Walsh said. "How many hundreds of cars do you take off the road everyday by letting them ride on the train?

"If you take the math, a train could save either Cherry Point or Camp Lejeune a ton of money. These are some alternatives that would make some really good safety sense."

Still, Walsh said the priority in Havelock is a proposed flyover from U.S. 70 East to the Slocum Road gate to Cherry Point.

"The flyover is the most important thing we could ask for, both for the civilian population and for the military personnel," Walsh said.

According to the report, about 350 wrecks have occurred at the U.S. 70-Slocum Road intersection in the last 10 years, mostly involving military personnel, military dependents and FRC East employees.

Money from the Department of Defense is paying for a study that will examine the flyover proposal. The report is due out next year.